Sunday, October 31, 2010

(CNN) -- Somalia's new prime minister, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, won the backing of lawmakers Sunday to become the head of government, the president's office announced.
The Somali-American was tapped in mid-October to lead the largely lawless Horn of Africa nation.

Mohamed used to work in Buffalo, New York, as a regional civil rights manager for the New York State Department of Transportation, the president's office said.
He vowed Sunday to "move with full speed to do the people's business. I will very soon form an effective and dedicated cabinet that will put the Somali people first," the president's office said.
President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed called it "a great day for Somalia."
Of the 392 lawmakers attending the session, 297 voted for the new prime minister, 92 voted against and 3 abstained, the president's office said.
The prime minister will take the oath of office and form his cabinet in the next few weeks.
He takes over the leadership of a country that is a base for international piracy and was recently rated the most corrupt country in the world by Transparency International.

Mohamed got a masters' degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and taught at Erie Co

The Somali Parliament gives today the vote of confidence to the new Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. 392 MPs attended today’s session and 297 MP voted for the new Prime Minister. 92 MPs voted against and 3 abstained.

“We will move with full speed to do the people’s business. I will very soon form an effective and dedicated cabinet that will put the Somali people first.” Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed said after the victory.

President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said, “This is a great day for Somalia”, and he thanked the MPs for “voting for change and renewal” and called “The MPs, the Somali people and the international community to cooperate and collaborate with the new Prime Minister and his team.”

The Prime Minister will take the oath of office and form his cabinet in the next weeks.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Somali Parliamentarians is expected to endorse the newly-appointed Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo on Sunday after president sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden finally agreed open ballot, officials said.
Somalia speaker postponed a vote to approval the newly appointed Prime Minister triple after the war-torn country assembly descended into chaos
"Parliament was scheduled to precede the motion of approval on premier today but it was postponed to Sunday, the ballot shall be openly," said a Lawmaker.
President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed says lawmakers must cast their votes openly, while the speaker of parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, has said parliament will vote by secret ballot, but reports from Presidential palace, Villa stated that the both leaders agreed the approval will be openly.
President Ahmed appointed Mr. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed alias Farmajo as new prime minister to replace the PM Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke who resigned last month.
Interim government has been overwhelmed by disputes and power struggle since it was first assembled at the end of the Nairobi Conference, Kenya in 2004.

update Yemeni forces arrest woman believed linked to explosive packagesApparently acting on a tip from a Saudi Arabian source, the U.S. is searching for more suspicious packages after interdicting two cargo flights at East Midlands Airport in England and Dubai on Friday and finding shipments allegedly from Yemen that contained improvised bombs. The explosive devices were reported to have been wired into printer toner cartridges. Dubai Police said Saturday explosives in the printer's toner cartridge it had found were "professionally" loaded and connected via an electric circuit to a mobile phone chip hidden inside the printer. Because printer ink is flammable, there are restrictions on any package containing it, requiring special preparation for shipment. Explosive Ordinance Disposal specialists in Dubai said the package contained highly explosive PETN and lead azide substances, both used in bomb detonators. "The plot style carries features similar to previous attacks carried out by terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda," according to a police statement. "A team from Dubai Police EOD unit disposed of the device."In Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, where the packages allegedly originated (some reportedly addressed to synagogues in Chicago), the military presence grew visibly on Saturday in the section of town where UPS, FedEx and DHL have their offices. The companies are all on the same street in the rich suburb of Hadda, a main road that is a popular haunt for wealthy Yemenis who frequent its many western restaurants and stroll the area at night, smoking sheesha, a local fruit smoke, and drinking sweet tea with milk. Earlier Saturday morning, the offices — which are small and staffed by just two or three people — were still open for business. The staff at FedEx and UPS, however, had already been told not to speak to journalists. To get packages out of Sana'a and Yemen via international couriers, senders need to show an I.D. Card and provide their full name. Read more:

Mogadishu - Somali pirates have hijacked a tanker nearly 600 nautical miles off Somalia, pirates and the European Union anti-piracy taskforce said on Saturday. The taskforce, EU Navfor, said gunmen attacked the MV Polar, a 72,825 ton Panama-flagged tanker with 24 crew members, overnight in the Somali basin. The crew includes one Romanian, three Greeks, four Montenegrins and 16 Filipinos. The tanker's owner confirmed pirates were now in control of the vessel, EU Navfor said. Somalia has lacked an effective central government for almost two decades and is awash with weapons. The mayhem on land has allowed piracy to boom in the strategic waterways off its shores linking Europe to Asia and Africa. - ReutersJudge upholds case of 5 Somali piracy suspects

A former commander in the Somali military has admitted that government soldiers sell arms to insurgents seeking to topple western backed government. A former Chief of Staff of Somalia's Military, major general Yusuf Hussein Osman, says unpaid soldiers offered to sell their guns and ammunition to the enemy

Mr. Osman who served as the chief of staff in 2009 said the soldiers are not being paid their $100 monthly wage a long period.“The biggest source for rebels’ arms is government forces. Unpaid soldiers get money from rebels and then hand to their arms”, said Maj.General Osman in an exclusive interview with AfricaNews.Those who sell their guns to Islamist insurgents are part of hundred of Somali soldiers trained with U.S. and EU funds in the neighbouring countries. The soldiers were trained in Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Uganda and Sudan.Only United States spent $6.8 million to train almost 2,100 Somali soldiers in Djibouti and Uganda over the past year.The European Union also paid €5 million ($6 million) for the training 2,000 Somali forces in Uganda.He said soldiers’ camps are ghastly, provided with no healthcare, and often live without food. He added some of soldiers are in very malnutrition situation.“A soldier needs to get what he is dying. He has to get money. If you didn’t give salary three months or more than, he has to look for a way to feed his family”, said Maj. General Osman.Local Human rights groups accused uniformed and plain-clothes Somali force for looting civilians at their controlled areas. The force also frequently steals civilians’ mobile phones and other valuables at gunpoint.

Mr. Osman blamed Somali officials for corrupting soldiers’ funds and not be serious for building and establishing Somali strong forces.He especially accused a .“The president is very committed to rebuild Somali military but the prime minister (resigned after this interview) is not helping the issue. He is busy with other issues”, Mr. Osman who is in Nairobi said.The chief of staff who resigned at the end of last year says the cabinet is corrupted people who are out to enrich themselves. However, Somali information minister Abdirahman Omar Osman denied the allegations as total fabrication.“Government manages funds meant for the military very well. And it’s improper for us to steal soldiers’ salary so the allegation is a big lie. We cannot do that”, Omar told AfricaNews by phone from Mogadishu.He also denied that government soldiers sell their weapon to Islamists. “It is not true. Our soldiers are braves who stop Al-shabaab. Even if they miss salary, they could not sell their arms to their enemies. Al-shabaab tried to buy weapons from soldiers but they do not accept”.Last month angry Somali forces with their vehicles closed main roads in Mogadishu as they were demanding for salaries.The soldiers fired civilians and public car those using streets in the area controlled by Somali force. They also closed streets into the presidential palace, airport and other important place in the capital.They fired guns into sky, shouting “we need our salary”. Those who made the demonstration were among soldiers trained in Djibouti, Sudan and Uganda.The demonstration ended on Tuesday after Somali officials promised immediate payment. But Major General Osman says the only tax from seaport can buy strong force with their full equipment.“If they manage, the tax from seaport can be enough to more than 6,000 soldiers with their communications, uniforms and vehicles. But they are not ready to do so. They are only out to satisfy selfish interests”.Former Somali Prime minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmake said before his resignation that one the main challenge of Somali government faces is payments for Somali soldiers.The PM said international donors gave government less than 5million to buy Somali forces but Major general Yusuf Hussein Osman had said the fund was not managed well.He left the military because he says he could not lead disappointed soldiers. Maj. General Osman said a few deserted soldiers joined rebels, but most of them hand to their arms then returned to normal life.Somalia's besieged U.N.-backed government holds only a few blocks of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, while Islamic insurgents control the rest of the city and most of the country.The turmoil — the lawless East African nation's proximity to Yemen, where Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula is based — has fed fears that Somalia could be used to launch attacks on neighbours and western Countries.The country’s military who were in the fourth powerful military in Africa, behind South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria had collapsed in 1991 after Somali warlords overthrew long time military Mohamed Siad Barre.Since that year, there are efforts to re-establish a regular armed force by a re-constituted Somali government.The biggest effort to rebuild the Somali national army in two decades of war was made during recent years for recruiting new soldiers.But Major general Yusuf Hussein Osman said those trained abroad brought no development in the country.“They learnt how to fight but they don’t what they are fighting for. A soldier needs to wash and clean his mind with water of patriotism. So Somali officers have to do that job and train them in the country. You must give their chance”, he advised AU and international donors.He says sometimes it is hard to understand each other especially in the mission because of the difference in training. There are safe places to train forces in country such as Mogadishu, Puntland or even Somaliland, according to Osman.“IGAD must think to prepare Somali forces that can replace them. If AMISOM stay with us even more than 20 years it means for nothing to us. But if they train Somali forces, it makes a sense”, said former chief of Staff referring that AMISOM gives no attention to the Somali army.

Friday, October 29, 2010

This week's revelation that senior officials in Somaliland's intelligence organization were actively involved in aiding Al Shabaab terrorists is reflective of Somaliland's secretive support for terror groups who destabilize southern Somalia (incl. Mogadishu) and more recently, the stable neighboring State of Puntland.

The lies are quickly falling apart – and a make-belief "independent Republi" is finding itself increasingly under the shameful shadow of failure. International delegations, from the UK, Denmark and even Horn of Africa regional power Ethiopia, have visited the self-declared "Republic of Somaliland" in recent months declaring what Somaliland' s leaders have always known: international recognition is not coming.

The propaganda reels quickly come to mind: young men and women, wearing bright colors representative of Somaliland's flag, actively engaged in demonstrations or standing in long voting lines. Generations lied to and misled by their politicians, forced to stand under the scorching sun in shameful lines at voting centers or protesting in front of Western embassies around the world, parading their disgraceful but well-constructed lies.

Democracy and voting are positive developments, but what is more positive is seeking peace and stability in the Horn of Africa sub-region and pursuing domestic economic opportunities to benefit the masses who stand in the sun. And so Somaliland's lies have changed every few years, but what has remained absolutely consistent is the politicians' underlying desire to keep the population of Somaliland in the dark.

Before Somaliland's military aggression began in Oct. 2007, when upwards of 50,000 civilians were displaced from their homes according to U.N. estimates, Somaliland's leaders said that if Somaliland "seizes the eastern border" – a mythical border with no international significance – that Somaliland will be recognized. So Somaliland's clan-based constituency – drawn almost exclusively from the Isaaq clan of Dir clan-family that inhabits most of northwest Somalia – supported a war of aggression against Harti communities (of Darod clan-family) that calls home Sool and Sanaag regions of Puntland State of Somalia. With blood spilt, with civilians displaced, recognition did not come. So the newest lie was that Somaliland's presidential election, held on June 26 after two-years of illegal and constitutional delays, will bring recognition.The theme of a lie is consistent, but the mechanics of the lie have shifted somewhat.

Claiming genocide, committing injustice

What is appalling is that Somaliland's Isaaq community, who unilaterally declared independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991, complains consistently about "genocide" and mass displacement of civilians committed by the Barre regime in 1988. Ideally, those who suffered such a fate fully know to respect and to abide by the laws of justice more than those who did not experience such a fate. However, it was different in Somaliland. The Isaaq clans united militarily to attack, occupy and subjugate the Darod communities in northern Somalia on the basis of a mythical border. In the process, Darod communities who survived Somalia's only true genocide in Mogadishu in 1991, when Hawiye-based USC militia targeted, maimed, massacred and uprooted Darod communities from Mogadishu after Barre's violent ouster, were again forced to flee their homes under a Somaliland military assault. What great injustice committed by those who claim to have suffered "genocide" under Barre's dictatorship.

It is Garowe Online's resolute position that the Somali National Army's war and bombardment of Hargeisa and Burao in 1988 was not "genocide" – it is not different than the daily bombardment of Mogadishu by Western-funded African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) fighting an insurgency that threatens to bring down Somalia's weak and chronically corrupt Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu. In 1988, when Isaaq-based SNM militia seized control of Hargeisa and Burao in an anti-government insurgency, the Somali government overreacted with excessive military force to kill or capture clan-based (Isaaq) insurgents who threatened the Somali government and national security. During that time, Somali government troops were not going house-to-house to massacre civilians after asking them, "Are you Isaaq?" Of course, in the Mogadishu of 1991, Hawiye-based USC militia were going house-to-house or stopping civilians randomly on Mogadishu streets to ask the hated question, "Yaa tahay?" (which clan are you?) If you said Darod, you were killed or raped – man, woman, young or old. That is the legal definition of genocide: when people are deliberately and systematically targeted and persecuted purely for their identity, which is far different from a government offensive against insurgents.

In 1988, Somali government forces were defending the nation against all insurgents, whether SSDF, SPM, USC or SNM, which are all clan-based insurgent groups. Today, AMISOM peacekeepers are defending Mogadishu against Al Shabaab insurgents – and so AMISOM's military offensive against insurgents in Mogadishu is sanctioned by world powers and international organizations, such as the United Nations. This is because the following premise always holds true: governments have the justification and the right to defend against all aggressors or insurgents who threaten national security. Sometimes, governments can have a heavy-handed response, as was the case in 1988 conflict in retrospect. But the premise of government defense against insurgents was justified, while the method's brutality can be left for historical analysis.

Somaliland's support for instability and terrorism

This week's revelation that senior officials in Somaliland's intelligence organization were actively involved in aiding Al Shabaab terrorists is reflective of Somaliland's secretive support for terror groups who destabilize southern Somalia (incl. Mogadishu) and more recently, the stable neighboring State of Puntland. With the Grace of Allah, Puntland troops overwhelmed Al Shabaab terrorists in Galgala hills area who were formerly led by Mr. Mohamed Said Atom – a man on U.S. wanted list but who now lives in Burao, a town controlled by Somaliland authorities. READ:Somalia: Al Shabaab rebel Atom 'hiding in Somaliland': Report

Report The revelation was declared by the Puntland Intelligence Agency (PIA) – a covert organization in Puntland trained and supported by U.S. counterterrorism agencies based in Djibouti. According to the PIA, a Somaliland intelligence official was named Said Salah Eynab who was killed in action in the Galgala area by Puntland government troops while "fighting alongside Al Shabaab". Puntland government documents obtained by Garowe Online dating back to 2006 indicate that Somaliland's administration supported Atom's militia in Galgala area as a way to open a war front against Puntland. The idea was quite simple: with Mogadishu at war, it was only the stability of Puntland that threatened to break apart Somaliland's grand lie of saying: "Somaliland is peaceful while Somalia burns". So Somaliland actively supported terrorist groups, even turned a blind eye to the active recruitment by Al Shabaab in Burao town, in order to start a war in Puntland.

But when Puntland government forces began to crush the Al Shabaab insurgents, and Atom ran to the terrorist safe houses in Burao, Somaliland Interior Minister Mohamed Abdi Gabose begun speaking softly towards Puntland for the first time in Somaliland' s militaristic history. Gabose held two separate press conferences – both held as Puntland troops stormed up mountains and hunted down the terrorists (coincidence?). Somaliland knew Puntland was winning the war too fast – and they sought to portray themselves publicly as those seeking peace and "security cooperation" with Puntland.

Somaliland must allow its public to regain self-confidence and lost identity. Blaming all of Somalia's ills on Mogadishu while parading Somaliland as the "angel of East Africa" is simply the politics of amateurs who believe they are smarter than everyone else, only to find an empty house later. Yes, there is much to praise about the Somaliland people's struggle to rebuild bombarded cities in Hargeisa and Burao, but the Somaliland government's covert support for terrorism and allowing Al Shabaab recruitment inside major towns in Somaliland is something with long-term consequence for the people of Somaliland, who should be aware of their own government's activities.

The people of Somaliland must come to realize that the unending pursuit of a dream called recognition comes with a heavy price. Today's Somaliland is not different than any other part of Somalia in terms of economic, development or social indicators. Like all fellow Somalis, Somaliland's elite are exiled in the West and Somaliland youth are paying human smugglers in increasing numbers to reach the Middle East and beyond, due to the extremely desperate conditions on the ground. Somaliland's government should invest in its population, in creating educational and employment opportunties for youth, instead of funding clan wars and military aggression in Sool region or covertly aiding Al Shabaab terrorists to destabilize Mogadishu and Puntland.

It is somewhat understandable that Somaliland's Isaaq clan suffers inferiority complex in the face of a perpetual Hawiye-Darod struggle for dominance in Somalia since the country's independence in 1960, but peace and stability should never be sacrificed for emotional sentiment and historical revisionism.

We found out one of the main reasons some people are blocking somali prime minister-nominee Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed confirmation . The first official meeting Between The speaker of the transitional parliament of Somali Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden and new PM . closed source with Pm officer told us, the Speaker get offended before and after twin towers Pictures ( the words 9/11 We Will Never Forget ) Prime Minister's Office personal display shelf Along with His Wife and Kids pictures. He suggested to remove those pictures from a personal display shelf Inside the Prime Minister's Office.PM told him It is none of your God damn business. The speaker threatened blocked his nomination

A new political crisis appears to be brewing in Somalia, where leaders cannot agree how parliament should vote for the next prime minister.

President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed says lawmakers must cast their votes openly, while the speaker of parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, has said parliament will vote by secret ballot.On Sunday, President Sharif called on the speaker to, in his words, uphold the law and not obstruct lawmakers from discharging their constitutional duties.The dispute has forced repeated delay of a vote on prime minister-nominee Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.

From the frontline bases soldiers from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) keep a watchful eye over the no man's land toward Al Shabaab positions. (Stuart Price/AMISOM/GlobalPost

In Mogadishu there is no peace to keep.

The fighting that rages through Somalia's seaside capital is between the Islamist insurgents of Al Shabaab and the combined forces of the interim government and African Union peacekeepers, known as AMISOM.

Photographer Stuart Price is working with AMISOM and got behind the frontline of this ongoing battle to document the chaos that characterizes life in Somalia's capital. Here is what he found:

Witnesses said that a Shebab firing squad on Wednesday shot dead two teenage girls accused of spying in front of hundreds of residents in the central town of Beledweyne."We are horrified by reports of the execution," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said, condemning the killings "in the strongest possible terms.""This makes clear that al-Shebab continues to deprive the Somali people of security, peace and stability," Crowley told reporters.The United States considers the Shebab a terrorist organization and has sent arms to the weak central government, viewing it as the best hope to try to end two decades of virtual anarchy in the Horn of Africa nation AFP

Thursday, October 28, 2010

MOGADISHU, 28 October 2010((TF.SF)- Somali Government forces and local members of Ahlu-Sunnah Wal-Jama’a (ASWJ) have successfully repulsed attacks by the militants to destabilize Belet Hawo, in southwestern Gedo region. More than two dozens of al-Shabab members were killed this week in their failed attempts to recapture this town bordering Kenya.

Soon after the government forces recaptured the town mid October, they have initiated community engagement programs and brought law and order. Unfortunately, extremists shelling of the town caused civilian casualties and massive displacement.
Likewise, the TFG forces have been making good progress in Bakol and Hiran regions where they have defeated militants. All efforts are geared towards ending the brutality of extremists in Somalia.
Somalia’s Minister of Information, Abdirahman Omar Osman (Eng. Yarisow), said:
“Somali Government commends the efforts by TFG and local ASWJ forces to eliminate the militants from these important regions. Such consolidation is very important in this critical time to reach our common goal of peaceful and prosperous Somalia.”
Meanwhile, Somali Government strongly condemns a public execution of two teenage girls in central Hiran region by al-Shabab extremists on Wednesday. An aunt of one of the girls told Radio Mogadishu that her niece was travelling to Bosaso to find her way out of Somalia.
The two girls were not given the right to a legal advocate nor were their parents informed of this barbaric act.
“This execution is yet another human rights abuse committed by the criminals. This act of killing innocent children does not have Islamic and humanitarian justifications.”
ENDMinistry of Information, Mogadishu

October 28, 2010: Al Shabaab is falling apart. For the same reason Somalia has had no national government for two decades, al Shabaab has been split by clan and personal differences. Rival groups, mainly Hizbul Islam, and the Sufi coalition ASWJ (Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca) have grown stronger. So has the TNG (Transitional National Government), despite being the largest, most corrupt and most fragile coalition around. The net result is that the al Shabaab threat to dominate all of Somalis is gone. The internal feud is not just about clan matters, but also between those who accept al Qaeda foreigners, their money and their goals, and those who do not want to be dominated by these murderous foreigners. This has led to some justified anxiety among the al Qaeda members who have sought to establish terrorism bases in Somalia. For the last week, TNG and al Shabaab gunmen have been fighting to control the southeastern town of Beled-Hawa. This has caused over 50,000 civilians to flee towards the nearby Kenyan border. While casualties in Mogadishu have declined to less than a hundred a week, it's been more than that down in Beled-Hawa.
The most recent survey of corruption finds that, to no one's surprise, Somalia is the most corrupt nation on the planet. Even foreign aid workers are expected to pay off numerous groups in order to deliver free food to the starving.
Twice this month, Somalis living in coastal villages used by pirates, have described helicopters that fired on people and killed some. But there have been no photos or other evidence of these attacks, which no one took responsibility for.
The pirates have had to adapt to more vigorous tactics to stay in business. The Gulf of Aden, where most of the targets are, is so heavily patrolled that most attacks fail. So more and more pirates are going farther away (out in the Indian Ocean, into the Red Sea, off the coast of Kenya and towards the Persian Gulf). But this long distance pirating requires larger "mother ships" ( usually stolen deep sea fishing boats) that the anti-piracy patrol looks for and destroys (when piracy gear is found on board). The pirates are sent back to shore, but their plans for piracy have been crippled. The AU (African Union) is asking the UN to authorize, and Western nations to pay for, an air and naval blockade of Somalia, to keep out weapons and terrorists. This would be an expensive and risky enterprise, and unlikely to happen.
October 24, 2010: Pirates seized a German cargo ship off the coast of Kenya, but the crew all fled to a safe room and shut off the engines. A call was put out to the anti-piracy patrol, and by the next day troops showed up. The pirates had already fled, knowing that this was how this works if they cannot take the crew captive.
October 23, 2010: A Greek tanker was seized by pirates off Kenya, just 12 hours after the unloading at the Kenyan port of Mombassa.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

SAN'A, Yemen —A Yemeni court on Wednesday charged an American who was arrested for suspected al-Qaida ties with the murder of a Yemeni soldier and the wounding of another during a failed escape attempt.
Judicial officials said the 26-year-old American of Somali descent, Sharif Mobley, was charged by a criminal court for killing one of his guards and wounding another while attempting to escape from a hospital where he was receiving treatment in March.The officials spoke about the trial on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Mobley was originally arrested for suspected links to al-Qaida.
On Wednesday's hearing, however, Judge Abdul Wali al-Shalani made no mention of al-Qaida and adjourned the trial until Nov. 10. Unlike other terror suspects, Mobley is being tried in a criminal court, rather than a security one specializing in terror cases.
Some Yemen analysts believe that the Yemeni government exaggerates threats of al-Qaida in order to get more Western and Arab financial and political assistance to deal with other unrelated rebellions in the country.
U.S. officials say Mobley, who grew up in Buena, N.J., traveled to Yemen more than two years ago with the goal of joining a terror group and that the U.S. government was aware of his potential extremist ties long before his arrest.
While living in the United States, Mobley passed a criminal background check and worked as a laborer at several nuclear power plants, but there is no indication that his work had any connection to his alleged involvement with terror groups.
Yemen's weak central government has struggled with a growing al-Qaida threat from militants who are increasing their operations in the impoverished and largely lawless country on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
Al-Qaida's offshoot in Yemen grew strength after several key leaders escaped from a Yemeni jail in 2006. In 2009, it was further bolstered by a merger with Saudi al-Qaida militants to form al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The Seattle Times

FBI Investigators leave the home of Farooque Ahmed in Ashburn, Va., on Wednesday. Ahmed, a naturalized citizen born in Pakistan was arrested and charged with trying to help people posing as al-Qaida operatives planning to bomb subway stations around the nation's capital, the FBI said.

A Virginia man has been arrested for allegedly trying to help Al Qaeda plan multiple bombings around the nation's capital, according to U.S. officials.Farooque Ahmed, 34, of Ashburn, Va., was arrested today by the FBI and charged with providing material support to terrorists and collecting information for a terrorist attack.“It’s chilling that a man from Ashburn is accused of casing rail stations with the goal of killing as many Metro riders as possible through simultaneous bomb attacks,” said Neil MacBride, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Today’s arrest highlights ... our ability to find those seeking to harm U.S. citizens and neutralize them before they can act."According to an indictment filed in U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, between April 2010 and Oct. 25, Ahmed repeatedly met with individuals he thought were affiliated with Al Qaeda to discuss "jihad."

On May 15, in a hotel room in Sterling, Va., Ahmed told one individual that he might be ready to travel overseas to conduct jihad, but only after he completed the Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in November, according to the indictment.In addition, he agreed to watch and photograph Arlington Cemetery Metrorail station and a hotel in Washington, D.C., in order to obtain information about their security and busiest periods.In fact, on July 7, he participated in surveillance and recording images of Arlington Cemetery Metrorail station. The next month, he allegedy participated in surveillance of the Courthouse, Pentagon City and Crystal City Metrorail stations outside Washington.During a meeting at a hotel in Herndon, Va., on Sept. 28, he suggested that rolling suitcases be used instead of backpacks, and he said that he wanted to kill as many military personnel as possible, according to the indictment.Officials say that at no time was the public in danger during this investigation. The FBI was aware of Ahmed’s activities from before the alleged attempt began and closely monitored his activities until his arrest, according to U.S. officials. Ahmed is set to make his initial appearance Wednesday afternoon in Alexandria, Va. fox newsMan charged with D.C.-area bomb plot

(TF.SF )Nairobi, Kenya Somali youths in Nairobi, Kenya have been warned not to join the Islamist hard line group Al-shabaab and that of Al Hisbul Islam.
“We want parents to prevent their kids from joining Al-shabaab and the other militia groups in Somalia. We have to admit the seriousness of that situation; we have seen Al-shabaab insurgents are recruiting children to take gun rather than pen, so we are unwilling to let Al-Shabaab to continue such bad deeds against our young generation,” said Mohamed Ibrahim Ajib, the chairman person of the newly established Somali Youth Advocacy Organization (SYAO).“When parents send their children especially sons to Islamic schools like Quranic School, what happen after that? Al-shabaab go to Quranic School to persuade the children to be trained as military persons. They gave money to kids and some Al-shabaab officials are given to children for military training and that is against our Islamic religion,” said the Quran teacher Sheikh Omar Mohamed Farah. Attending the workshop were members of the Somali community in the capital Nairobi including politicians, parents, clerics and youths.

The teens were blindfolded with their hands behind their backs against a tree, and shot, according to a local journalist.
Belet-weyne, Somalia (AHN) - Somalia’s al Qaeda-inspired militant group, al Shabaab, has executed two Somali women in Belet-weyne. The two women were accused of spying for the Somali government. Al Shabaab regional governor Sheikh Yusuf Ali Ugaas told onlookers that the women were apprehended during one of the group's operations conducted in the village.“They look like beggars according to their haggard face, but they had been passing on the secrets of the Mujaheden in Hiran region for Christian Ethiopians and their apostate government,” Ugas said.He added the group’s jails are filled with people linked to espionage charges, whom, said they will undergone Shraia law.It is not the first time al Shabaab has carried out such sentences. In mid October, the group executed two people in a village outside of Mogadishu, accusing the pair of spying for the Ethiopian government.

Jowhar, Somalia (AHN) - Islamic militants in the town of Jowhar in southern Somalia on Wednesday took more than 20 men into custody, accusing them of shaving their beards, residents said.Hundreds of fighters from the insurgent group Al Shabaab were seen patrolling in the neighborhoods of the town looking for what they called violators of Islam. Locals told the media that the militants had been beating men who had shaved their beards.People in Jowhar voiced a deep anxiety about Al Shabaab operations, calling on officials of the group to stop using soldiers to harass civilians.Al Shabaab militants in the Hiran, Lower Jubba and Gedo regions had ordered men to shorten the length of their pants as well as cut their hair. One of the young people in the town of Belet-weyne told local radio station Shabelle, on condition of anonymity for security reasons, that Al Shabaab fighters started search operations in the neighborhoods of the town and detained 17 youths.Al Shabaab, which controls large swaths of territory in southern and central Somalia including many parts of the capital city Mogadishu, has imposed tight restrictions on women. They have been ordered to veil their faces and have banned women and men from sitting together on buses.Al Qaeda’s affiliate in the Horn of Africa nation is intent on imposing a harsh version of Sharia Islamic law throughout war-devastated Somalia.More Crimes Against HumanityAl-Qaeda's proxy in Africa Al-shabab cut of the tongue of a young man

Paris, France (CNN) -- A man purporting to be Osama Bin Laden warned France to get its troops out of Afghanistan and not to oppress Muslims at home in a tape broadcast by the Al-Jazeera network Wednesday."If you want to tyrannize and think that it is your right to ban the free women from wearing the burqa, isn't it our right to expel your occupying forces, your men from our lands by striking them by the neck?" the speaker demands, in reference to recently passed French legislation barring women from covering their faces in public.French authorities are treating the message "very, very seriously," CNN counterterror analyst Paul Cruickshank said.There has been no official response from the government, but lawmaker Lionel Lucas of France's UMP party said: "One must take these threats seriously but never concede."The weaker we are, the more fragile we become, the more we will become hostages of these terrorists. So we must remain firm and know that firmness is also sometimes difficult and painful," he said on RTL radio.

An opposition lawmaker urged "contempt towards these terrorists."All of this is derisory, contemptible. We must take this message for what it is but we must stand together in France, all French, whatever the circumstances and whatever our differences," said Francois Loncle, a Socialist Party member of the foreign relations committee of the National Assembly said on RTL radio.

The demands of the speaker on the tape are clear."The only way to safeguard your nation and maintain your security is to lift all your injustice and its extensions off our people and most importantly to withdraw your forces from Bush's despicable war in Afghanistan," the speaker says.The tape is audio only. The speaker does not appear. CNN was not immediately able to confirm that it is really Osama Bin Laden, the head of al Qaeda.But fake Bin Laden tapes have never been broadcast, U.S. intelligence experts say."As you kill us, you will be killed. As you imprison us, you will be imprisoned, and as you threaten our security, we will threaten your security and the initiator of the injustice is the true aggressor," the speaker says.The country's terror alert level is red, the second highest, authorities say. It did not change immediately in response to the new tape.Paris has been on edge lately, with the Eiffel Tower having been evacuated twice.Al Qaeda has issued a series of threats against France in the past, and French citizens have been killed by groups in Africa claiming affiliation with Bin Laden's group.Bin Laden is still providing strategic direction to al Qaeda from a base somewhere in Pakistan, Cruickshank said."He is still involved in actual plotting... signing off on (an) operation, Western intelligence authorities believe," he said.But there have been only two successful attacks on the West since September 11, 2001, he pointed out.

Commuter trains in Madrid, Spain, were bombed in March, 2004, killing 191 people. Public transport in London, England, was bombed in July, 2005, killing 52, plus four suicide bombers.France has 3,750 troops in Afghanistan, according to NATO's International Security Assistance Force.French lawmakers approved a ban on full-face veils in September, citing security concerns and saying they violated women's human rights. The ban is scheduled to come into effect in the spring.

update on Dictator malez sanawi. Picking a Fight with the Wrong Guy. After giving orders on mercenary get him zero results appears to be he is in panic mode .he is running out of options
The Somali Parliamentarians were suppose to meet on Wednesday to give or restrain their votes of confidence to Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed (Farmajo) the new man who was very recently appointed by the Somali President to be next Prime Minister of Somalia after the former Prime Minister of Somalia Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke has resigned his post of Premier a month and days ago, after strong rift has came in between Ex-premier Sharmarke and President Shariff.The adjournment of the eagerly expected Parliamentarian session for the approval or disapproval the newly appointed Premier was verified for Somaliweyn website by Parliamentarian Awad Ahmed Ashara who also the head of the information department of the Somalia parliamentarians“I would like to inform my fellow Parliamentarians that our session of today is reschedule for probably tomorrow or on Saturday, and this does not mean that the session is dismissed due intentional purposes, but due some technical problems which the top officials of the Somali parliamentarians will soon rectify” said MP Ahmed Awad Ashara. The is no strong specified date and time when the Somali lawmakers will come for a session to give or restrain their votes to the Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed (Farmajo) the newly appointed Prime Minister of Somalia. The approval of the newly appointed Premier of Somalia Mr. Farmajo has created intense tension between the President of Somalia Sheikh Shariff and his most closest comrade Shariff Hassan who is the speaker of the of the Somali Parliament.

Somalia’s minister of the year 2010
Mogadishu: – Members of MPs for Somali Federal Transitional Government like Asha Abdalla have denounced the speaker of the TFG Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden for his position in the latest parliament clash.

They strongly blamed the speaker of being responsible for the present setbacks and therefore advised members of MPs to come up with probable solutions to the misunderstanding between MPs.Parliament is supposed to meet today for the approval of the new elected prime-minister but One of MPs warns that a further delay would only deepen the already existing disputes.The speech of the Somali MP coincided amid deep division within parliament members where some of them have sided with the speaker.Some of Parliament members told the media that the legislators are required to approve the legitimacy of the new prime minister and not carried away by the conflicts between the President and the speaker.Political disagreement between President Sheikh Sharf Sheikh Ahmed and parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden boiled up last week after Shiekh Ahmed accused the speaker of parliament is obstacle the process of approving or rejecting the new nominated premier by the president Sheikh sharif.The president Shiekh Sharif said, “Tthe speaker has two motions one of which –140 lawmakers–is requesting a vote in open vote, and the other—40 MP’s–is requesting a secret ballot“I appeal the Speaker of Parliament to uphold the law and to not obstruct lawmakers from discharging their solemn constitutional duties, particularly at this critical occasion when we need a government that can stand to address the enormous tasks.”In 1960 constitution decreed the assembly should express confidence or no confidence in the prime-minister in an open vote requiring a simple majority, the speaker interfere the law of the house.On the other side, Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden also issued a memo later on Sunday condemning the president of creating confusion within the Somali government.The Speaker of Parliament said, “W should use what our constitution says, the vote of confidence for the new prime- minister will be use secretly according to the constitution article 43 in the new constitution.”

According to the constitution, Failure to conform and apply the provisions of article 30(6) which categorically states that any motion contravening the Sharia Law, the Charter or the Constitution and the other laws shall be unacceptable.The TFG has been plagued by conflicts and power struggle since it was first established at the end of Kenya in 2004.Since the Parliament is supposed to meet today for the approval of the new elected prime-minister and it is unclear what will come out.Somalia: Large displacement still continues in Mogadishu.

Dawn report from far southwestern district of Bul-Hawo in Gedo region says that the Somali government troops who have recently taken control of the district have overnight arrested men who are strongly believed to have links with Al-Shabab which an Islamist faction which has strong bond with Al-Qaida Network.

The detention of these people came after the government troops in the district have launched a thorough security operation overnight. So far the number of the detained people is 5 according to reliable source on the ground that has requested not be identified in the press.“The Somali government’s troops who have recently taken control of the district have overnight arrested 5 men whom they have said have close links with Al-Shabab, there were very slow murmuring among the inhabitants of the district that these 5 men had too close links with Al-Shabab” said a person who does wish his identity to be disclosed in the press speaking to terror free somalia website. The fate of these 5 people is not now known, but as usual the Somali government troops will not instantly take out the sword from the holster and chop of the heads of these people, but thorough investigations will be done and if they are not found guilty they will walk freely and they are found guilty they will be transferred the high court for additional inquires and their penalties as well. Since the Somalia government troops have taken control of the district some of couple of days ago they have been doing methodical security operations in the district and its outskirts areas, and so far this is the first time they apprehended men linked with Al-Shabab group

The fighting in Bulo Hawo has driven at least 60,000 Somalis out of their homes in the past week (file photo)

NAIROBI, 27 October 2010 (IRIN) - At least 20,000 Somalis displaced by fighting from the border town of Bulo Hawo are facing an uncertain future in camps in the Kenyan town of Mandera, locals told IRIN on 27 October. "The entire town [Bulo Hawo] has almost been emptied by the fighting; most have fled to the interior, but at least 3,500 families [21,000 people] have crossed into Kenya," said Ahmed Mohamed Yusuf, an elder. He said most of those on the Kenyan side were in a makeshift camp at a place called Border Point One, east of Mandera town. The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, said most of the Somali refugees were either renting housing in Mandera or staying with relatives. "We are particularly concerned about the worsening health and security conditions of thousands of others who have been camping out in the open at Border Point One..." the agency said. UNHCR said the fighting in Bulo Hawo between government forces and the Al-Shabab Islamist group had driven at least 60,000 Somalis out of their homes in the past week. Yusuf said he was worried about the displaced who had fled to surrounding villages. "These are the most vulnerable," he said. "They have no help there and are unlikely to access aid agencies." Yusuf said he was getting reports that most of the displaced were staying in the open, with "absolutely no shelter. I don’t know how long they can last." Lul Abdullahi, a mother of five from Bulo Hawo, said: "I left because the shelling was too much; we sought refuge on the Kenyan side. Here we have no shelter. We are all camping under trees." She said the only help they had received so far was the provision of water by the UN.

Flooding threat
A local journalist in Mandera, who requested anonymity, told IRIN those who were in Border Point One, less than 1km from the Somali border, had settled in an area prone to flash floods. With the expected onset of the deyr (short) rains, they face the threat of floods and disease.
"If the rains come, as is expected, they are in danger of floods and worse," the journalist said.
Another journalist who is still in Bulo Hawo said at least 80 percent of the town's population had fled. "There are very few people left; 90 percent of businesses are closed. All you see are armed men patrolling the area."According to UNHCR, Border Point One is 500m from the Kenya-Somalia border "and within range of fire if clashes resume in [Bulo] Hawo".With the Islamist Al-Shabab militia reportedly regrouping to try to retake the town, the agency urged the Kenyan authorities to "speed up relocation of new arrivals so that people can be moved away from the border and into a reception centre where UNHCR and its partners can attend to their protection and assistance needs".
Somalia has been embroiled in conflict for nearly 20 years since 1990, with more than 1.4 million displaced and 600,000 refugees in neighbouring countries. The UN estimates that more than two million Somalis need humanitarian assistance.UN urges Kenya to move Somali refugees to safety

MoS Moments of Silence

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

Designation of Al-Shabaab

When our world changed forever

Al-Shabaab

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

SOMALI REPUBLICANS

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Somalia

About Us

The Foundation is dedicated to networking like-minded Somalis opposed to the terrorist insurgency that is plaguing our beloved homeland and informing the international public at large about what is really happening throughout the Horn of Africa region.

Al-Qaida in Somalia. ...

We Are Winning the War on Terrorism in Horn of Africa

The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.